Monday, 30 August 2010

Hopefully you understand the gist of this blog despite this being only my second post, and understand that I am talking about performing stand-up comedy for the first time, and not lacking a severe amount of ambition; my life-long dream is obviously not to just be laughed at by the people of south London.

On the advice of Miss Gemma Beagley I have chosen The Comedy Virgins night held at the Cavendish Arms in Stockwell to break my comedy cherry. Gemma has told me that the Cavendish Arms is a really friendly place and a great place for a novice comic like me to do my first gig.

It also gives me two weeks to con people into coming along to support me, and fake laughing at the appropriate times.

Thursday, 26 August 2010

Today is the day I decided to try stand-up comedy. I've always been a huge fan of stand-up and have a great admiration for all those funny f*ckers who have the balls to get up on that stage and do their thang!

A few times I have thought about giving open mic a go, but being the so-called "funny guy in the office" is one thing, getting up in front of a bunch of strangers is a completely different ball game, and I have never even come remotely close to actually giving in to the temptation... That is until about two weeks ago.

I found out recently that a friend of mine has been doing open mic comedy for about 10 months now. Gemma Beagley, who I have known since we were teenagers on the mean streets of Mitcham, was telling me how she got started after attending a comedy course. "Why don't you come down and give it a go?" she said.

I went back to the office and happened to mention this to a few people and before you knew it I was being encouraged to try it out from all directions. Well, by the person sitting next to me, and the person sitting directly opposite me. And sometimes the cleaner when I'm working late and we crack a few vacuum-related jokes. Ah, good times...

To cut a long story short, I resisted their pleas for just enough time to have my ego rubbed a sufficient amount before giving in and agreeing to try it out. After all, you only live once. At least I can say I gave it a go and have no regrets.

Unless I die on my arse and it completely knocks my self-esteem and confidence to ground zero. I'd probably regret it then!

Wednesday, 25 August 2010

Perhaps a better name for this book should be Boast By Honor. After all, this books boasts that it's 'The fascinating true story of the powerful crime family that inspired the The Godfather.' It also boasts of Mafia ties to the likes of JFK and the Hollywood elite. And Bill Bonanno does plenty of boasting about his own credentials within one of the most powerful crime organisations in American history.

Bound By Honor isn't a bad book, and it's first-hand account of an era that gave their names to New York's Five Families (Lucchese, Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Colombo) is certainly unique. But... having read a number of books on the subject, I can't help but think that old Bill does half try and pour on a large dose of that 'Romanticizing the Mob' cocktail! Honour, tradition, taking care of our own, etc etc.

At the heart of the book there is a good story. The relationship of John. F Kenedy's father, Joe, with the mob is well-documented elsewhere in his role as a prohibition bootlegger, so it comes as no surprise that he might have had close connections with Bill's father, Joseph Bonanno; a man who became one of the most powerful and colourful men in Mafia history.

But the line about 'Two proud men, one named Bonanno, the other named Kennedy, dream of their sons taking over their dynasties-each taking a different, but equally powerful pat...' Fuhgeddaboudit! It all sounds a little too Hollywood for me at times, especially as it implied that Bill was the inspiration for Mario Puzo's Michael Corleone character. Hmmm, hell of a boast there Bill...!

I don't want to keep taking digs at this book, because I did actually enjoy it. It has some fascinating insights into an era of the Mob that will never certainly be seen again (and for good reason!), but they mainly include the stories about Bill's father than they do about him. Tales about the Apalachin meeting, the plot to assassinate fellow crime lords Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese, and The Banana War. In many circles Bill was considered 'too weak' to lead a crime family, and he certainly does not come across as fierce as some of his counterparts.

At the end of the day, I did find this an enjoyable read, but I took a lot things with a pinch of salt. Bill Bonanno seems compelled to try and put his memoirs in the same ilk as The Godfather, when the reality is you only have to read something like Murder Machine by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci to realise this image couldn't be any further from the truth! I'd recommend giving it a read if you are interested in that era, but I'm not too sure I'd go around boasting about it.

Monday, 23 August 2010

I am about to embark on a journey - an epic journey! Well, perhaps not quite as epic as the journey that took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away; or that Incredible Journey which involved two dogs and a cat traveling 250-miles to get home.

Come to think of it, I could be over-selling this whole epic journey concept, but let's just go with it and see how it works out!

My journey is the long road to become a published author! In September last year I finally finished the first draft of that elusive first book. And darn it, I am going to blog about every little detail, whether anyone out there is listening or not!

I also hope it helps give exposure to any fellow indie authors out there, because there is a lot of exceptional talent out there, and even if this helps just one of them, it will all be worth it (queue the triumphant cinematic tones from the London Symphony Orchestra...!).

Please feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions, and by all means contact me if you fancy a chat or want to pop round for a cup of tea!

So hold on to your hats and enjoy the ride (even if it does sometimes feel like it's going at the pace of the Tea Cup Rides...!)